Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that the death toll from the mine explosion in the northern state of Barten has risen to 41, after the explosion occurred on Saturday, due to a gas leak, according to preliminary investigations.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that the death toll from the mine explosion in the northern state of Barten has risen to 41.
President Erdogan inspected the mine in the Amasra area of Barten state, which witnessed an explosion on Friday.
Erdogan also chaired a meeting at the Mobile Coordination Center of Emergency and Disaster Management (AFAD).
After that, Erdogan made statements in front of the stricken mine, in which he indicated that the death toll from the mine explosion had risen to 41 after the body of the last miner was recovered.
President Erdoğan was accompanied on his inspection tour by a number of officials, including Vice President Fuat Oktay, Parliament Speaker Mustafa Sentop, Minister of Health Fahrettin Koca, and Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Adil Kara Ismailoglu.
On Saturday, Turkish Interior Minister Suleiman Soylu announced that the death toll from the mine explosion had risen to 41, noting at the same time that search teams had rescued 58 miners out of 110.
Soylu indicated that 11 injured people received treatment in hospitals.
On Friday evening, President Erdogan announced the cancellation of his program in the southeastern province of Diyarbakir and his intention to go to the Amasra region of Barten province, where the explosion occurred, in order to "coordinate all search and rescue work personally."
International condolences to Turkey
On Friday, the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed, in a statement, "its deepest condolences and sincere sympathy to the government and people of the sisterly Republic of Turkey for the victims of the explosion accident that occurred in a mining mine in Barten state, northern Turkey, this evening (Friday)."
On Saturday, Palestine also expressed its condolences to Turkey for the victims of a mine explosion in Barton, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas offered condolences to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for the victims of the mine explosion, according to the official Palestinian news agency "Wafa".
For his part, Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a message of condolence to his Turkish counterpart for the victims of a mine explosion in Barton.
Putin expressed his sincere condolences to President Erdogan for the victims of the accident, according to a statement issued by the Kremlin on Saturday. He also expressed his grief and solidarity with the families of the victims and their families, wishing a speedy recovery for the injured.
For his part, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev sent a message of condolence to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the victims of a mine explosion in Barten province.
On Saturday, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia expressed its solidarity with Turkey over the explosion that occurred in a mine in the Amasra area in Barton state, in the north of the country.
The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement: "The Kingdom expresses its solidarity with the government and people of Turkey for the explosion that occurred in the Barten mine."
In a tweet, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif expressed his "deep sadness" after receiving the news of casualties in a mine explosion in northern Turkey.
"Our hearts and prayers are with the families of the victims and the Turkish people. I hope that the trapped people will be rescued as soon as possible," he added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted a telegram of condolences in Turkish for the victims of the blast on his Twitter account on Saturday, saying: "With great sadness, I received the news of a mine explosion in the Amasra region of Barten State. I offer my condolences to the families and relatives of those who lost their lives, and I wish a speedy recovery for the injured."
On Saturday, the Omani Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement about the Barton explosion, expressing its sympathy with the Republic of Turkey over the explosion.
In a related context, several missions of "Western countries" issued telegrams of condolences for the victims of the blast that occurred in the Barton Mine.
In a tweet, the US Embassy expressed its sadness over the explosion and offered its condolences to the families of the victims, and wished a speedy recovery for the injured.
"We share their grief with the families of the victims and the Turkish people's pain, and we wish a speedy recovery for the injured," the Italian embassy said in a tweet.
For his part, Chargé d'Affairs to the British Embassy, Ajay Sharma, expressed in a tweet his sadness over the explosion, offering his condolences to Turkey for the victims of the blast and wishing a speedy recovery for the injured.
The embassies of France and Greece also expressed, through tweets, their sadness over the explosion and offered condolences to Turkey for its victims, and wished a speedy recovery for the injured.
And Saturday, Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid expressed in a statement, "Egypt's sincere condolences to the friendly Turkish people, and the Turkish state, for the victims of the mine explosion."
Energy Minister Fatih Donmez had announced that preliminary investigations showed that the explosion that occurred on Friday was caused by a gas leak.
Continuing tension in the West Bank and Israeli calls to "rein in" the occupation soldiers
Israeli forces raided the village of Qarawat Bani Hassan, in the northern West Bank, which resulted in violent confrontations between the army and the Palestinian residents. The head of the "Meretz" party called for "restraining the Israeli army soldiers."
On Saturday, 10 Palestinians were wounded by Israeli army bullets, during a military force storming the village of Qarawat Bani Hassan, west of the city of Salfit, in the northern West Bank.
And the Palestinian Ministry of Health said in a brief statement that two serious injuries, "with live bullets from the occupation in the chest, arrived at Salfit Governmental Hospital."
While activists on social networks circulated pictures and videos of Israeli forces inside the village, violent confrontations erupted with the Palestinian residents.
Palestinian journalist Mo'in Rayan, a resident of the village, said that more than 10 Israeli military vehicles raided the village on Saturday afternoon.
He added that the confrontations began in the center of the village and then moved to its outskirts, pointing to obstruction of the residents' access to their farms to pick olives, and forcing workers working in workshops to leave them.
"Control the Israeli army"
For her part, Meretz party leader (left) Zahava Galon called on Defense Minister Benny Gantz to "rein in the IDF soldiers," pointing out that there is an "unreasonable" increase in the number of Palestinians killed by Israel in the West Bank.
Galon said during a cultural event in the city of Petah Tikva, "The Minister of Defense must control the IDF soldiers and restrain them."
She added: "There is an unreasonable increase in the number of Palestinians killed during the past year, including those killed due to the easing of the open fire regulations."
And on Saturday, the United Nations announced the death of at least 100 Palestinians in the West Bank since the beginning of this year, amid the escalation of Israeli military operations in the region.
Galon continued, "The settlers riot against the Palestinians, and this causes an escalation. The army secures convoys of settlers who come to provoke (...) there must be a firmer hand against the settlers."
It criticized Israeli calls for the army's entry into the northern West Bank in a military operation similar to the "Defensive Shield" carried out by the Israeli army in late March 2002.
"On the other hand, we are witnessing the awakening of disorganized Palestinian youth in Jerusalem in Jenin and Nablus. Those who are now calling for the introduction of the IDF into Jenin, in the so-called protective shield, must understand that the region will witness an escalation," said the Meretz head.
Galon also attacked the extremist Knesset member Itamar Ben Gvir, the leader of the "Religious Zionism" party, over his rioting in Jerusalem and his participation in the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque, describing him as a "thug and instigator."
She added: "His entry into Jerusalem will be accompanied by rioters from the hills (extremist Jewish youths from the settlement outposts in the West Bank), and the Minister of Defense should declare them a terrorist organization and call for the lifting of immunity from Ben Gvir for encouraging and inciting terrorism."
And she considered that the goal of the extremist Knesset member is to "ignite a religious conflict in Jerusalem, especially in the Palestinian neighborhoods, until it reaches the Temple Mount (the Temple Mount / Al-Aqsa Mosque)."
She said that Ben Gvir is ready to sacrifice the blood of Jews and Arabs in order to take a picture of his electoral campaign, in reference to the parliamentary elections scheduled in Israel early next month.
The West Bank has been witnessing tension for several months, especially the cities of Nablus and Jenin, where the Israeli army killed dozens of Palestinians, and the city of Jerusalem is witnessing tension due to the settlers' repeated incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque.
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